Incident Response: A Strategic Guide to Handling System and Network Security Breaches

Part II: Insider Attacks

Many current surveys and research studies indicate that human beings—and primarily “insiders”—are the cause of most computer attacks. In addition to the issue of an “inside job” is the fact that an insider could help an outsider gain access. Outside hackers with inside knowledge can likewise cause a great deal of expensive damage to the network, can cause time and cost damage for those who have to spend their time assessing and rebuilding the destroyed parts, and can damage the reputation of a company. All security breaches cost an employer, even the ones not defined as being “data destructive.”

Although attacks conducted purely by outsiders can certainly wreak havoc, the inside job is perceived to be destructive to ...